The coat of arms
of Puerto Rico was first granted by the
Spanish Crown in 1511, making it the oldest
heraldic achievement still currently in use in
the Americas. The territory was ceded by
Spain to the United States in accordance to the
peace treaty that ended the Spanish-American War
in 1899, after which two interim arms were
adopted briefly. A law was passed in 1905 that
re-established the historical armorial bearings
as the arms of the territory; after numerous
investigations and amendments, the current
version was adopted in 1976.